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    304 THE LEADES. [No. 314, Satukda*.

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    MRS, FITZHERBERT. Memoirs of Mrs. Fiizhe...

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    Animal Life In The Alps. Smekcs Of Futur...

    the low countries from dangerous inundations . On the other hand , it withers the apple blossom , and destroys the promise of fruit . If the north or west wind follow quickly upon the Fon , they precipitate the evaporation in violent showers of rain . But sometimes in the Higher Alp 3 , more particularly during the autumn and early spring , this wind will blow gently for weeks together , accompanied by the most beautiful weather , whilst in the valley there is either no prevailing wind , or a slight breeze from the north . Hence the curious fact , that sometimes in December or January some spot lying high in the mountain will be found green and fertile , blossoming with , spring gentians and inhabited by gnats and lizards ; white down in the valley tie pine branches groau under the weight of snow , and the stream is encrusted with ice . He is great on . the glaciers , the streams and avalanches , and tells us the novel nnd inexplicable fact , that men buried in the avalanche snow hear distinctly every word uttered by those who are seeking for them , while their own most strenuous shouts fail to penetrate even a few feet of the snow !

    The chapter on the Lammergeier , or Alpine Vulture , is very striking ; and in it the naturalists who love to expatiate on the u evidences of design , " will learn with some disgust that , although the beak is so admirably ' contrived' for tearing flesh , it grows so long in old age as " to hinder the animal from eating : " thus , if a hunter ' s bullet fails to terminate the robber ' s existence , Nature kindly undertakes the office by gradual starvation : for , the vulture is not a bird to live on air ; he requires substantial food : — The contents of the stomachs of lammergeiers which have been opened after death have created no little astonishment , and suppass all that has ever been

    related of the voracity and digestive powerB of similar European birds of prey . One contained five bullocks' ribs , two inches thick and from six to nine long , a lump of hair , and the leg of a young goat from the knee to the foot . The bones ¦ were perforated by the gastric juice , and partly reduced to powder . But the most abundant feast was found in the-stomach of a lammergeier killed ¦ b y Dr . Schinz , ^ yhich contained the . large hiprbone of a cow , the skin and fore-quarters of a chamois , many smaller bones , some hair , and a heatiicock ' s claws . It was evident that the bird had pursued and devoured these animals one after the other .

    A bird with such an appetite had need have some power of purveying for it . vWhen the prey is too large to be swooped upon and carried off , this is how it manages : — If it ; sees an . old chamois or a sheep or goat grazing near a precipice , it will Trhirlifotiiid and round , trying to torment and frighten the creature till it flies to the edge of the eluT ; and then falling straight down upon it , not unfrequently succeeds in pushing ip into the abyss below with one stroke of its wings . Diving down after its mangled victim / it will begin by picking out its eyes , and then proceed to tear open and devour the body . A lammergeier onceendeavoured in this

    manner to scare an ox , standing on the edge of a steep cleft , over the precipice He persisted obstinately in his efforts , but the quadruped was not to be terrified or roused from its native stupidity ; and planting itself firmly on its legs , and lowering its head * it quietly waited tall the assailant perceived the uselessuess of his attempt . The bird has not unfreqiientiy practised his precipitating manoeuvre upon huntsman whom it has discovered standing in hazardous positions on jutting points or ledges of rocks . Those who have been thus surprised have declared that the noise , together with the strength and rapid motion of the enormous wings have exerted a certain magical and almost irresistible influence over them

    ¦ Lovers of thrilling stories will thank us for quoting this : — Equally frightful was the situation of a Sardinian who attempted to rifle a lammergeier ' s nest in the mountains of Eglesias . lie was accompanied by his two brothers ,. who let Mm down : by a rope ; a common practice in places where the perpendicular nature of the rock does not allow of clambering down its face . Suspended over the tremendous abyss , he had taken four young vultures out of theTQest , when the parents fell upon him simultaneously , like furies . He kept them off by his Babre , which he swung incessantly over Ms head , when suddenly the rope began to shake violently ; he looked up , and to his horror discovered that in the heat of defending himself he had cut through three-fourths of its thickness . The remaining threads might snap at any moment , and the slightest movement on his part might precipitate him into the depths below . Slowly and carefully his companions drew him up , and he was safe . His hair ,-which was raven black ( his age was about twenty-two ) , had turned white , it was said , in that half-hour .

    The' chapter on Chamois and Chamois-hunting , though interesting , is less novel ; we pass on , therefore , to the Lynx , of whom it is said : — Having sprung upon a beast it endeavours to tear it down ; but , if unsuccessful , allows it to escape with perfect indifference , and returns to ita branch without betraying a sign of vexation . It is not voracious ; but it is sometimes rendered incautious by its love of fresh blood . If it has secured no prey dming the day , it will wander at night to an immense distance , perhaps over three or four mountains ; hunger giving it courage and sharpening its senses . On meeting with a flook of sheep or goats glazing , it immediately glides like a snake on its belly , seizes a favourable opportunity to spring upon the back of a viotim , and kills it instantaneously by bi ba the neckIt is

    ting an artery . satisfied with devouring the intestines nnd part of the head , neck , and-shoulders ; audits peculiar method of destroying its prey enables the shepherd at once to identify the delinquent by whom his flock has been visited . * * * When a trace of some sanguinary deed ia discovered , the criminal is generally far away from the spot where it was perpetrated , and if pursued it escapes into distant regions . If , however , the sportsman succeeds in surprising it on the spot , it inakea no effort to escape , and is easily shot . Like the yrild cat , it remains lying quietly on ita tree , and staving at ita antagonist . An unarmed huntsman can deceive it by sticking up a few articles of clothing before fit while he returns to fetch his gun . The lynx continues gazing fixedly at the clothes till the weapon is ready and the shot fired .

    Ton Tschudi indulges too much in the hypothetical so familiar to naturalists when ho says that the Lynx is restrained from attacking domestic animals $ wm &( ,, * ' fear of discovery . " The intelligence of beasts we willingly admit ; D ^ it sw « h Iprethought and knowledge aa is implied to an animal abstaining frort ; a certain prey from fear of discovery we must not be asked to believe . - V'i *' . . 'fyjqnjljaT ^ friend the Fox haa a very good biography in these pages . His moral , character indeed has never stood very high j but Heinccko is one of the ^ Weeftble scoundrels . He . . dislikes forming a retreat for himself , for ho clis-1 ! h ;^ 1 Dftftn l labour , and he generally contrives to dispossess the industrious ftn ^ hypochipndriacal badger of , his quarters . See him at home : — < vJ ! vwfci * SST **? i l a the dwellings of our mountain foxes very artiutioally ™ £ ?& il !? ' gtaewOly conuiut of one deep cavity , with two or throe entrances connected with eaoh < Jther . The animals usually inhabit those quarters

    throughout the year . Here , at the beginning of May , the female gives birth to from five to nine blind cubs , which she nurses and tends carefully . After the lapse of some weeks she leads out the pretty little yellow creatures , sports with them , brin ^ them birds , lizards , and other small prey , and instructs them in the ark of eatchinr tormenting , and devouring other animals . When they have reached the eize of ° halt-grown cat , they he in fine weather before the entrance of their home mom ing and evening , waiting the return of their parents . An observer seldom sue ceeda in discovering thej young family , as the mother is extremely watchful and on hearing the slightest rustle will retreat , her cubs in her mouth , to the hole Julthe foxesfull of

    In y youug , hope , venture alone upon the chase , and at break of day try to surprise a hare or squirrel , or to allure a young heatheock or if they can find nothing better , a quail or golden-crested wren , or even a mouse into then * hole , while the smallest among them will content itself with a wotm or a cricket . They already imitate their parents , busily scenting with their lou < r . pointed snouts the tracks on the ground , their delicate ears erect , their small green , squinting eyes eagerly examining the landscape , and their soft woolly brash * lightly moving 113 they step softly along . The young ones leave the parenta . 1 home for good in the autumn , and live alone in their respective holes , till in the spring they look out for a companion for life .

    Reinecke has a liberal appetite ; no animal , dead or living , comes amiss . The prickly coat of the hedgehog is safe against his teeth , but not against his cunning ; he torments and pulls the poor creature about so long that at last it unrols itself and surrenders . If Reinecke has his leg caught in a trap , he bites it off , and runs away quite unconcerned ; and after very severe wounds he recovers ; indeed a single shot seldom kills him . Yet in spite of this tenacity of life , a smart blow on the nose kills him at once . Is not this singular ? Indeed the variety in tenacity of life among animals is quite surprising : a slight wound kills a hare , an ibex , or a deer , but chamois , foxes , wolves , cats , and squirrels will bear very severe wounds . We close our notice of this delightful hook "by an amusing anecdote of the Fox ' s eunnine > : —

    A physician had a fox which he allowed to run about at liberty all day , and which never hurt a creature . It would run out into the woods aud come back voluntarily , to be chained up at night . Remarking once that its collar was too wide , it slipped it 3 neck out of it , patrolled about the neighbouring yards by night , and stole the poultry , returning always before daylight , and creeping back into its collar . It pursued this course with inapunity for a long time , and , as it was always found in the morning chained up and harmless , no one suspected it , till at last somebody watched it , and discovered its tricks .

    304 The Leades. [No. 314, Satukda*.

    304 THE LEADES . [ No . 314 , Satukda * .

    Mrs, Fitzherbert. Memoirs Of Mrs. Fiizhe...

    MRS , FITZHERBERT . Memoirs of Mrs . Fiizherbert , with an Account of her Marriage with tile Prince of Wales ^ aftei wards King George the Fourth . By the Hon . Charles Langdale . Bentley . The Hon , Charles Langdale ought to be satisfied- Without obtaining from the strong ; room of Messrs . Coutts ' s Bank the documents there preserved ; he has nearly completed the story of Mrs . Fitzherbert . His memoirs , therefore , must be consulted by all future biographers of George the Fourth . But the character of the lady is left exactly as it was ; and if a touch is added to that of the King , it is a touelr of the brandingriron . Mrs . Fitzherbert never was compared to Emma Hamilton , and never will be compared to Rachel Hussell . She was a cunning , clever woman , with much ambition , and without much sensibility , who , surrounded by wary counsellors , acted upon calculation , and , on her way to fame and power , trod underfoot some things that women are supposed to prize . She had no heart , but adored respectability , and

    would not stand , even towards the heir of the throne , in an unrecognisable relation . If all this had not been long notorious , the Hon . Charles Langdale supplies a supplement of very convincing testimony . As we have said , it alters nothing ; it only strengthens the view already accepted by history . What is here disclosed of the King exhibits him as a vulgar , weak-n-itted egotist , destitute of scruples , manners , and virtues , a prevaricator , a bigamist , and ahypocrite , to his own family at once a tyrant and a coward , and to the world at once insolent and deceitful . This was' the man whom Mrs . Fitzherbert loved , and whom she wooed with adroit , retiring arts , always flying from his pursuit , yet never concealing herself in inaccessible obscurity . No , Mary Anne Smythe , who had been twice married when she became the " sweet lass of Richmond Hill , " had learned much from her double widowhood . Too wise , perhaps too scrupulous , to become the mistress of the Prince of Wales , she was too ambitious to shrink from an equivocal connection , continued long after , in the face of the public , he had been married to Caroline and Cai © line ' s

    successor . The editor of this memoir has undertaken , not very judiciously , to vindicate the lady ' s fame . In as far as he is successful , his task was unnecessary ; in as far as her reputation was ambiguous , his plea has hecn unsuccessful . It had not been left for him to prove that Mrs . Fitzherbert declined to live with the Prince of Wales unless as his wife ; but it was not in his power to prove more . To assert a Roman purity for the lady who reconciled herself to the conditions of King George ' s polygamy , may be very amiable on the part of a kinsman , but is not very judicious on the part of an advocate . Mrs . Fitzherbert is acquitted . That must suffice , She does not leave the Court without a stain on her womanly character . Mr . Langdale , however , was tempted to put in his affidavit by a loose statement in Lord Holland ' s memoirs , by " a misunderstood paragraph in Dr . Doran ' s lives of the Hanover queens , and hy certain Quarterly criticisms . He indulges in some satirical insinuations against

    the courtly injustice of suppressing evidence that would compromise the name of George the Fourth , though it is necessary to establish the character of George the Fourth ' s ifirst wife . But Mr . Lnngdale himself strikes obliquely and maliciously at higher names—at the name of Charles James Fox , for example , to whom he imputes , without reserve , the habit of puhlie profligacy , nnd , by implications , the statement of a falsehood to the House of Commons . Surely the ambiguous allusion was unnecessary . If the Prince of Wales behaved to Mrs . Fitzherbert as a hypocrite and a poltroon , it was not the first or the last time that he exposed his total want of manl y qualities . There is no doubt that ho commissioned Fox to dcuy his xnarnage to the House of Commons ; that he denied it himself , and afterwnrda " owned " it in a fit of cowardly dejection . Tlio plain story is this : Mary Anne Sraythe , born exactly a hundred years n # o , was benutiful and fiiscw « ting , and married , first Edward Weld , of Lulworth Castle ; second , Thomas Fitzherbort , of Surimcrton . After these marriages she w « b loft

• Citation
  • Leader (1850-1860), March 29, 1856, page 16, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse-os.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/cld_29031856/page/16/